I haven't processed film since I took the class a few years ago and need help with my process. I processed two rolls of 35mm tmax and 1 roll 120 tmax last night and almost all the negatives have significant purple clouding on them. Is this caused by spent developer or my fixing time or something else? Secondly, I've never processed med. format film before but assume it is like the 35mm. I did a water prewash last night and the water I poured off of it was blue. Is this normal or is this some other problem I need to be aware of?

-- Terry Durden (terry12@ix.netcom.com), August 06, 2001

Answers

Hello! TMax film needs extra time in the fixer for the magenta hue to go away.

The blue in the water was just the anti-halo coating on the films back, and it's meant to come off. You saw it in the water, and sometimes you can see it in the used developer, and with some developers it goes away, but you can't see it. Strange. :-)

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), August 06, 2001.

T-grain type films need three to six minutes fixing (depending on temperature) in rapid fixer with continous agitation, then about two minutes in HCA before the wash.

While it's certainly possible to fix them in ordinary fixer, I think it'll require 10 to 15 minutes and there's some thought that plain fixer can't completely fix t-grain film.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), August 06, 2001.

The other posts are right. But, don't use regular fixer for 15 minutes. That's over fixing, and likely to start damaging the image.

You can try HCA (hypo clearing agent) first to see if it clears. If it doesn't, rinse for 5 minutes, then re-fix, then HCA, then wash.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), August 06, 2001.

The color from presoak is sensitizing dye and they should wash off in the course of normal processing. Even if some of them remain in the film after processing, it is harmless. The purple cloud is undissolved silver halides, resulting from incomplete fixing and very harmful. You should re-fix these films immediately, preferrably in fresh rapid fixer. As John mentioned, modern films especially tabular grain fulms require more vigorous fixing process. Rapid fixer with continuous agitation make it managable to complete fix in 5 minutes.

Overfixing (dissolving image-forming metallic silver) occurs in a fixer solution with low pH. It is negligible in weakly acidic to alkaline fixers.

If you insist in washing off the dye completely, soaking the film in water for 10 to 20 min takes care of it. Fixer remover (a simple sodium sulfite solution will do, unless water temp is high) is also an effective way to wash it off. Prolonged fixing is not the preferred way to take care of it.

-- Ryuji Suzuki (rsuzuki@rs.cncdsl.com), August 07, 2001.

all the postes were right.

Here's my experience. when fixing t-max w/ regular fixer. I have to fix it for atleast 8 min. pinkness seems to come up with anything less. the Kodak data sheet call for 5-10 min. but it is more like 10 than 5.

Alex

-- alex siu (Alex_s2@yahoo.com), August 07, 2001.